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Dan Barrett (born March 16, 1980) is an American musician. He is one half of the rock duo Have a Nice Life. Barrett's solo work has been primarily released under the aliases Giles Corey and Black Wing. Outside of this, he has been involved in various short-lived bands. In 2003, he founded the record label Enemies List Home Recordings.

Musical career

[edit]
Comparison of styles across Barrett's solo projects. Where the first, "Spectral Bride" by Giles Corey, is a sombre folk- and country-inspired song,[1] "If I Let Him In" by Black Wing ventures into electronic and synthesised music.[2]
"Spectral Bride"
"If I Let Him In"
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Have a Nice Life

[edit]
Main article: Have a Nice Life

Barrett composes one-half of the industrial post-punk duo Have a Nice Life,[3] which he formed alongside Tim Macuga in 2000.[citation needed][4] The duo started their career by performing "morbid acoustic songs" at local open mic events, though it was not until the death of Barrett's father that they would start recording the songs.[5] On a budget of less than $1,000, Have a Nice Life's debut came in 2008 with Deathconsciousness, which John Hill of Noisey described as a mix of "shoegaze, noise, black metal, synthpop, drone, doom, and everything in between".[6] The album would fail to reach a widespread public audience but gained recognition on online music platforms.[5] Following Deathconsciousness was Time of Land, an extended play (EP) released in 2010 and distributed physically at Have a Nice Life's first official live show, occurring at The Stone in New York City. Following this, the EP was released digitally for free.[7]

Six years after Have a Nice Life's debut, they released their second album. The Unnatural World came out on 4 February 2014 following three singles: "Defenestration Song",[8] "Burial Society",[9] and "Dan and Tim, Reunited by Fate".[10]

In 2024, the duo released a cover of Low's song "When I Go Deaf" from The Great Destroyer in tribute to Mimi Parker, a member of Low who died two years earlier. The song features on the Flenser's tribute album Your Voice Is Not Enough. Have a Nice Life's interpretation extends the song's duration to eight minutes and supplements the original's slowcore sound with funereal themes.[11]

Giles Corey

[edit]
The execution of Giles Corey, a 17th-century farmer from whom the project derives its name

Giles Corey was the first main solo project of Barrett. It began as an outlet for country music but was progressively and supplementarily inspired by folk music.[1] Barrett said the music was influenced by country singer-songwriters Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard, among others.[1] The project took its name from Giles Corey, an English farmer accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials and executed by pressing. Barrett chose this as the namesake because it demonstrated the "immorality of execution", especially peine forte et dure. Barrett says of Corey: "He made them murder him. He made it ugly".[12] This fixation on death followed a one-year period wherein Barrett contemplated, and had attempted suicide.[1][12]

During the early stages of the Giles Corey project, he placed self-imposed restrictions on which instruments would be featured. However, as the debut album, the self-titled Giles Corey (2011), evolved, these constraints faded.[1][13] The album draws on philosophy and the paranormal, something Barrett explored to theorise the experience of death during his depressive year. While unconvinced by the idea of an afterlife, he appreciates its symbolism: speaking to Scene Point Blank, Barrett said "I don't believe in an actual afterlife, but I believe that the image and symbolism of the afterlife describe death in a way that speaks to people, myself included".[1] Despite the album focusing on the concept of death, he argues against it being a concept album: "I don't like the term 'concept album,' since it just sounds corny".[1]

Giles Corey was released on 1 March 2011[14] to critical acclaim.[15][16] According to Ray Finlayson of Beats Per Minute, "no words or descriptions will really, properly, fully prepare you for the sheer heart-wrenching emotional pull that these tracks have".[16] The album was released alongside a book that provided more details on the album's influences, as well as various other items of prose: Stereogum described it as "an etiology of suicide, self-asphyxiation manual, novel-in-verse, a fictional biography of a cult leader, Sebaldian picture story, et al".[12] Barrett himself advertised it as an "intensely personal, intimate portrait of depression".[17] The book was in part a sequel to the one that accompanied Have a Nice Life's Deathconsciousness.[1]

In continuation of the Giles Corey project, Barrett released Deconstructionist on 25 August 2012. The release comprised three tracks that in total, spanned over an hour and a half of runtime. On official sources, Deconstructionist is regarded as an album,[18][19] while Wired writer Phill Cameron called it an extended play (EP).[20] Barrett was inspired by "traditional ritual trance" while making Deconstructionist,[20] and as such, described the release as being "designed to induce trances, possession states, and out-of-body experiences".[19] Musically, the release is composed of binaural beats.[20] Cameron described it as a "disconcerting racket" that feels "almost lonely; every sound echoes as if in a huge space, and the constant pressure of electronic beats adds a sense of desperate urgency to the music. It's unsettling and uncomfortable."[20] Like his previous releases, Deconstructionist was also accompanied by a primer.[20]

Since these albums, Barrett has released one EP and one live album under the Giles Corey pseudonym. The EP, titled Hinterkaifeck name for the murders of the same name, was released on 21 February 2013,[21] and the live album, Live in the Middle of Nowhere, was released on 27 February 2013. The live album was recorded at a live show in the Enemies List Home Recordings warehouse in Meriden, Connecticut.[22]

Black Wing

[edit]
"Black Wing" redirects here. For other uses, see Blackwing.

Black Wing is the second solo project of Barrett. The music is categorised within electronic subgenres, though maintains the gloomy and dark characteristics present in his work as Giles Corey and with Have a Nice Life.[23][24] While the primary genres are distinct from those of his earlier projects, Barrett still notes similarities: "There are certain things I can point to as being pretty indicative of my aesthetic sense, little fingerprints that connect my oldest stuff with my newest stuff. None of that's on purpose, but I definitely sense it there".[25] In an interview with The Seventh Hex, Barrett said "It's more a mood that I want to go for, rather than a specific sound".[25] He cited 1980s new wave as an inspiration, as well as Washed Out, whom Pitchfork described as "the godfather of chillwave":[25][26] a style of electronic music that Black Wing has been classified under.[27][28]

Barrett began creating music as Black Wing in 2013, releasing two demos on Bandcamp: one self-titled and "My Body Betrayed Me".[29] In June 2015, "My Body Betrayed Me" received a music video and Barrett announced ...Is Doomed, the debut album of Black Wing,[27] which was released on 25 September 2015.[30] The album was enjoyed by critics,[31][32] though some thought it was underwhelming when compared to his previous works. Sam Robinson for Echoes and Dust said it was refreshing yet reminiscent of his previous works, but that listeners should not expect it to be "the next great milestone" in Barrett's discography.[30] Thomas Brand for Beat was disappointed with the production but still lauded several songs, including the closer "If I Let Him In", which he considered Barrett's best work to date.[2] Tiny Mix Tapes highlighted the same song, describing it as "centering, chilling, later explosive, terribly despondent, but humbling".[29]

Quarantine was profoundly isolating. With writing this record, more than anything I just wanted to prove to myself that I could make something out of it. That ended up being a lot of songs about feeling isolated, a lot of "trapped in my own head" moments. I think that was a lot of people's experience as well.

— Barrett, discussing his creative process for No Moon[28]

...Is Doomed was followed up five years later with Black Wing's second album No Moon. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic and released on 11 December 2020, it is thematically dark and emotional.[28] No Moon was preceded by three singles: "Bollywood Apologetics",[23] "Is This Real Life, Jesus Christ",[33] and "Choir of Assholes / You Think It'll Make You Happy But It Won't".[34] Like its predecessor, No Moon was enjoyed by critics,[35] many of which said it avoided several of ...Is Doomed's shortcomings.[23][28] For instance, Brian Roseler for Treblezine distinguished its production, something reviewers found issue with in ...Is Doomed. Roseler finished his review by noting that there was less lyrical intensity on this album than in Barrett's previous work, but that this was of no detriment: "It's a triumph of purposeful and intentional design, an album that was born from the pandemic, and tailored from a landscape of dreams".[23] Conversely, Aleksandr Smirnov of Beats Per Minute disliked the change in style and opined that no song was memorable.[24] Regardless, the album was featured as Bandcamp's "Album of the Day",[36] and Chris Keith-Wright for Echoes and Dust called it fantastic and hoped that the next release would arrive sooner than the five-year gap between Black Wing's first two albums.[28]

Other projects

[edit]

Barrett has additionally released music under short-lived pseudonyms and bands. This includes releases with fellow Have a Nice Life member Tim Macuga under the names Gate and Nahvalr, which were post-hardcore and black metal bands respectively;[37][38] as Married with his wife Thao, which released Christmas music;[39] and as a member of the bands in Pieces and The Cappuccino Jellybeans.[40][41]

Enemies List Home Recordings

[edit]

At a logistical level, we needed to record music and had no money. Over time we cobbled together whatever we could use. After years of recording however we could, we wanted to distribute that music. There was, then, no outlet for people like us: we wanted to make physical copies of our stuff, but labels didn't, and still don't, invest in home-recorded artists—especially ones they've never heard of and who have never played out.

— Barrett, speaking to PopMatters about the founding of Enemies List Home Recordings[42]

In 2003, Barrett founded his record label, Enemies List Home Recordings,[a] because he wanted to release music to the public but did not have the financial means to distribute it through mainstream labels. It was founded solely to release Have a Nice Life's debut Deathconsciousness, and as such he used it as a personal label until 2010, at which point he allowed submissions from other bands.[42] The label has released albums from Have a Nice Life; Barrett's solo projects Giles Corey and Black Wing; as well as unrelated artists, including Planning for Burial,[5] Mamaleek,[43] and Xasthur.[42]

Personal life

[edit]

Barrett was born on 16 March 1980 in Glastonbury, Connecticut.[44] He is married and has children.[12][45] Outside of music, Barrett works a regular job and has a real estate marketing agency.[46][45]

Solo discography

[edit]
See also: Have a Nice Life § Discography

As Giles Corey

[edit]
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with release date and additional details
Title Album details Ref.
Giles Corey
  • Release date: 30 April 2011
  • Label: Enemies List Home Recordings and The Flenser
 [14]
Deconstructionist
  • Release date: 25 August 2012
  • Label: Enemies List Home Recordings
 [19]
Live albums
List of live albums, with release date and additional details
Title Album details Ref.
Live in the Middle of Nowhere
  • Release date: 27 February 2013
  • Label: Enemies List Home Recordings
 [22]
Extended Plays
List of extended plays, with release date and additional details
Title Extended play details Ref.
Hinterkaifeck
  • Release date: 21 February 2013
  • Label: Enemies List Home Recordings and The Flenser
 [21]

As Black Wing

[edit]
Studio albums
List of albums, with release date and additional details
Title Album details Ref.
...Is Doomed
  • Release date: 25 September 2015
  • Label: The Flenser and Enemies List Home Recordings
 [30]
No Moon
  • Release date: 11 December 2020
  • Label: The Flenser
 [28]
Singles and demos
Title Year Album Ref.
"Black Wing" 2013 ...Is Doomed [29]
"My Body Betrayed Me" 2013
"Bollywood Apologetics" 2020 No Moon [23]
"Is This Real Life, Jesus Christ" 2020 [33]
"Choir of Assholes / You Think It'll Make You Happy but It Won't" 2020 [34]

Other

[edit]
Extended plays
List of extended plays, with release date and additional details
Extended play details Ref.
Drive 2 Soundtrack
  • Released under the name "Dan Barrett and the Cruisers"
  • Label: Self-released
 [47]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Dan Barrett

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Dan Barrett (born March 16, 1980) is an American musician best known as a member of the rock duo Have a Nice Life, which he co-founded with Tim Macuga in 2000.[1] He has released solo work under the aliases Giles Corey and Black Wing, and was involved in other short-lived projects such as Gate and Nahvalr.[1] In 2003, Barrett founded the independent record label Enemies List Home Recordings.[2] He resides in Connecticut, is married with children, and balances music with a day job in real estate marketing.[3]

Musical career

Dan Barrett began studying trombone at age eleven in Costa Mesa, California, soon adding cornet to his instruments. Inspired by early jazz pioneers such as King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, he formed the Back Bay Jazz Band during high school, which performed traditional jazz and helped establish his dedication to classic styles.[4][5] His professional debut came in 1973 at the funeral of Kid Ory, where he performed "Ory's Creole Trombone." In 1983, Barrett relocated to New York City, where he immersed himself in the jazz scene. He toured and wrote arrangements for the Widespread Jazz Orchestra and contributed valve trombone to the soundtrack of The Cotton Club (1984). By 1986, he joined Benny Goodman's final orchestra as a featured soloist. In the late 1980s, Barrett co-led the Howard Alden-Dan Barrett Quintet (also known as the ABQ) and recorded an octet project for Concord Records in 1987, highlighting his arranging and playing skills.[6][5] Barrett has collaborated extensively with jazz luminaries including Woody Herman, Buck Clayton, Doc Cheatham, Rosemary Clooney, Leon Redbone, and Randy Sandke. He served as musical director for Woody Allen's jazz band, appearing in the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues and contributing to film soundtracks such as Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Mighty Aphrodite (1995), with on-screen cameos in the first two. Since the early 1990s, he has been musical director for Arbors Records in Clearwater, Florida, producing and arranging nearly 40 albums, including Grammy-nominated work for Bobby Short.[4][6][7] As a leader, Barrett has released albums such as Strictly Instrumental (1987, Concord Jazz), Let's Be Buddies (1994, Concord Jazz), Moon Song (1998, Arbors), Melody in Swing (2003, Arbors), and Reunion with Al (featuring Al Jenkins, Arbors). He also leads the ensemble Blue Swing, featuring vocalist Rebecca Kilgore, and has arranged for projects like I Saw Stars (with Kilgore) and Look What I Found (with Daryl Sherman). Barrett received a 1999 Bell Atlantic Jazz Award nomination as "Trombonist of the Year."[8][9] A prominent figure in the swing revival, Barrett performs regularly at festivals including the Jazz Bash by the Bay and Mike Durham's International Classic Jazz Party. He appeared at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2018 and continues to tour internationally, preserving traditional jazz while innovating through arrangements like St. Louis Blues for jazz band and symphony orchestra as of the 2020s.[10][6]

Personal life

Family

Dan Barrett is married to Laura Barrett. They have one son, Andrew, who plays ragtime piano.[11][6]

Residence and influences

Barrett resides in Costa Mesa, California, where he grew up and returned after nearly two decades in New York City. As of 2021, he continues to live there with his family.[11][6]

Discography

As leader

  • Strictly Instrumental (Concord Jazz, 1987)[12]
  • Let's Be Buddies with George Masso (Arbors, 1994)[13]
  • Reunion with Al (Arbors, 1995)[14]
  • Two Sleepy People with John Sheridan (Arbors, 1996)[15]
  • In Australia with Tom Baker (Arbors, 1997)[16]
  • Moon Song with Rebecca Kilgore (Arbors, 1998)[17]
  • Being a Bear: Jazz for the Whole Family with Rebecca Kilgore (Arbors, 2000)[18]
  • Dan Barrett's International Swing Party (Nagel-Heyer, 2000)[19]
  • Blue Swing (Arbors, 2000)[20]
  • Melody in Swing (Arbors, 2000)[21]
  • The International Classic Jazz All Stars with Enric Peidro and Nicki Parrott (Snibor Records, 2019)[20]

With Howard Alden

  • Swing Street (Concord Jazz, 1988)[22]
  • The ABQ Salutes Buck Clayton (Concord Jazz, 1989)[23]
  • Swing That Music (Telarc, 1993)[24]
  • Live in '95 (Arbors, 2004)[25]

With BED

  • Get Ready for BED! (Blue Swing, 2006)[26]
  • Watch Out! (Blue Swing, 2006)[27]

As sideman

With Leon Redbone:
  • Red to Blue (1985)[28]
  • Sugar (Private Music, 1990)[29]
  • Any Time (Blue Thumb, 2001)[30]
With Randy Sandke:
  • Stampede (Jazzology, 1992)[31]
  • The Bix Beiderbecke Era (Nagel-Heyer, 1993)[32]
  • New York Allstars Play Jazz Favorites (Nagel-Heyer, 1993)[33]
  • Count Basie Remembered Volume One (Nagel-Heyer, 1997)[34]
  • Count Basie Remembered Volume Two (Nagel-Heyer, 1997)[35]
  • The Re-discovered Louis and Bix (Nagel-Heyer, 2000)[36]
  • Randy Sandke Meets Bix Beiderbecke (Nagel-Heyer, 2002)[37]
With others:
  • Play It Again, Joe by Joe Bushkin (United Artists, 1977)[38]
  • The Cotton Club by John Barry (Geffen, 1984)[39]
  • Rosemary Clooney Sings the Lyrics of Johnny Mercer by Rosemary Clooney (Concord Jazz, 1987)[40]
  • Easy Going by Warren Vaché Jr. (Concord Jazz, 1987)[41]
  • A Swingin' Dream by Buck Clayton (Stash, 1989)[42]
  • East Side, West Side by Kenny Davern (Arbors, 1994)[43]
  • How's Your Romance? by Bobby Short (Telarc, 1999)[44]
  • Jump Presents the Music of Jimmy Van Heusen by Rebecca Kilgore (Jump, 2005)[45]

References

  1. Dan Barrett - JazzTimes
  2. Dan Barrett Musician Biography | Canadian Jazz Archive Online
  3. About - dan barrett music
  4. Dan Barrett - Oregon Festival of American Music - The Shedd Institute
  5. Interview de Dan Barrett - Docteur Jazz
  6. Dan Barrett - Jazz Bash By The Bay Monterey
  7. DAN BARRETT'S CONTINENTAL CONNECTION @ Mike ... - YouTube
  8. Have A Nice Life
  9. Having a Nice Life with Dan and Tim of Have a Nice Life (Interview)
  10. https://nowflensing.com/products/have-a-nice-life-deathconsciousness-dlp-zine-1
  11. https://nowflensing.com/products/have-a-nice-life-deathconsciousness-tape
  12. https://nowflensing.com/blogs/news/have-a-nice-life-the-unnatural-world-repress-now-available-for-pre-order
  13. http://www.brooklynvegan.com/psycho-vegas-2019-sunday-pics-recap-opeth-power-trip-integrity-uncle-acid-warhorse-more/
  14. Giles Corey: Music
  15. https://nowflensing.com/blogs/news/giles-corey-self-titled-album
  16. Feature: Interviews – Giles Corey - Scene Point Blank
  17. Giles Corey | Last.fm
  18. We care about your privacy - Giles Corey - Bandcamp
  19. https://nowflensing.com/products/giles-corey-giles-corey-cd
  20. https://www.discogs.com/master/358289-Giles-Corey-Giles-Corey
  21. Deconstructionist | Giles Corey - Bandcamp
  22. Deconstructionist by Giles Corey (Album, Binaural Beats)
  23. Hinterkaifeck - Giles Corey - Bandcamp
  24. https://nowflensing.com/products/giles-corey-hinterkaifeck-lp
  25. Giles Corey - Hinterkaifeck [EP] Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius
  26. Black Wing "No Moon" CD
  27. Black Wing - Bandcamp
  28. https://nowflensing.com/products/black-wing-is-doomed-lp
  29. Is Doomed - Black Wing - Bandcamp
  30. Black Wing "...Is Doomed" LP - enemies list home recordings
  31. No Moon - Black Wing - Bandcamp
  32. https://www.discogs.com/artist/4044507-Cappuccino-Jellybeans
  33. "Nahvalr" (Digital) - enemies list home recordings
  34. Worms of the Earth - Interview - This Is Darkness
  35. Snow Days | Married
  36. Enemies List: Home-Recording and Having a Nice Life - PopMatters
  37. https://www.discogs.com/label/112138-Enemies-List-Home-Recordings
  38. About Us - enemies list home recordings
  39. Have A Nice Life Aren't Joking - Kerrang!
  40. HAVE A NICE LIFE - Issuu
  41. Daniel Barrett - Middlefield, Connecticut, www.adwordsnerds.com
  42. Interviews: Have A Nice Life | Features | Scene Point Blank
  43. Have a Nice Life (2007) - Todestrieb Records
  44. Have A Nice Life - The Unnatural World - Isolated Nation
  45. In Conversation: Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga of Have A Nice Life
  46. The Unnatural World... Have a Nice Life Interview - CVLT Nation
  47. Have a Nice Life: Sea of Worry Album Review | Pitchfork
  48. A Short History Of Have a Nice Life as told by Dan Barrett
  49. https://www.discogs.com/master/646171-Have-A-Nice-Life-The-Unnatural-World
  50. Have a Nice Life — The Unnatural World | The Quietus
  51. https://nowflensing.com/products/have-a-nice-life-sea-of-worry-cd
  52. Live in the Middle of Nowhere - Giles Corey - Bandcamp
  53. Giles Corey Live in the Middle of Nowhere - Sputnikmusic
  54. Black Wing - “If I Let Him In” | PREMIERE | Chocolate Grinder
  55. BLACK WING - '...Is Doomed' Review + Stream - CVLT Nation
  56. Album Review: Black Wing – No Moon - Beats Per Minute
  57. https://www.discogs.com/artist/2291930-Dan-Barrett-5
  58. Lions Write History | In Pieces
  59. https://www.discogs.com/release/2466729-In-Pieces-Lions-Write-History
  60. In Pieces - Lions Write History | Punknews.org
  61. Now, While They Aren't Looking, Tear It Apart by Gate (EP, Noise ...
  62. https://www.discogs.com/artist/1200986-Nahvalr
  63. Nahvalr reviews, music, news - Sputnikmusic
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